Origins and development
Although ethnography has long been used by archaeologists to draw analogies to the past, ethnographic data is not gathered with specifically archaeological goals in mind. Ethnoarchaeology developed as a response to the feeling among archaeologists that ethnography did not adequately answer their own specific research questions. American archaeologist Jesse Walter Fewkes first mentioned the "ethno-archaeologist" in 1900, and encouraged archaeologists to conduct their own ethnographic field work. Widespread acceptance of ethnoarchaeology as a true subdiscipline of archaeology did not emerge until the late 1950s and 1960s, as archaeologists began to explore the different scientific applications it might have. Ethnoarchaeology today has become a widely accepted research practice, with a few archaeologists even identifying as "ethnoarchaeologists" rather than simply "archaeologists."Analogy
Analogy in archaeology is, essentially, applying observed behavior to non-observed behavior. It is perhaps one of the most used research tools in archaeological interpretation. Analogies can best be drawn between those cultures who share similar environments. More importantly, these cultures must interact with their habitats in ways that are comparable to one another. It is important to keep in mind that analogies can only provide clues and not sound, definitive answers to research questions. For this reason, G.S. McCall calls for a comparative view for analysis in his cross-cultural study of the Gamo and Konso of southern and central Ethiopia, the Siberian Chukchi, highland New Guinea, highland Maya of Guatemala and Mexico, central, northern, and western arid regions of Australia, the Tjmba of northern Namibia, and the Xeta of Amazonia and their uses of lithics.Formal Analogies
Formal analogies are made with the assumption that, as Paul Lane describes, "because two objects or contexts share a similar appearance or shape, they are likely to share other properties as well, typically that of function." One of the major issues with this approach is that often these objects or contexts that initially appeared similar may have been used for very different purposes or served different functions. Perhaps the different objects were even created differently. In a 1971 study, Gould and his team compared working edge angle of Mousterain Quina scrapers and modern Western Desert Aboriginal scrapers and found the Mousterain angles to be steeper. Gould reasoned this was due to the Western Desert Aborigines retouching the scrapers further than the Hominids of the Mousterian. Gould et al. concluded that this method of studying ethnographic tool use for comparison could be employed to determine what tools were used for.Relational Analogies
Relational analogies are opposite from formal analogies. Instead of just drawing the conclusions, one must prove the relationship, and both sides of the analogy are studied and a relationship must be demonstrated between the ethnographic object and the archaeological object.Direct Historical Approach
One popular method in ethnoarchaeology is the use of theIssues
Ethnography can provide insights of value to archaeologists into how people in the past may have lived, especially with regard to their social structures, religious beliefs and other aspects of their culture. However, it is still unclear how to relate most of the insights generated by this anthropological research to archaeological investigations. This is due to the lack of emphasis by anthropologists on the material remains created and discarded by societies and on how these material remains vary with differences in how a society is organised. This general problem has led archaeologists (for example, LondonSee also
* Ethnohistory * Kalinga Ethnoarchaeological ProjectBibliography
*Binford, L 2002 ''In pursuit of the past : decoding the archaeological record : with a new afterword'', University Of California Press. *David, N. & C. Kramer 2001 ''Ethnoarchaeology in Action'', Cambridge University Press. *Deal, M. 1998 ''Pottery Ethnoarchaeology in the Central Maya Highlands'', University of Utah Press. *Dietler, M. & I. Herbich 1998 Habitus, techniques, style: an integrated approach to the social understanding of material culture and boundaries, in ''The Archaeology of Social Boundaries'', M. Stark ed., pp. 242–273, Smithsonian. *Hayden, B. ed. 1987 ''Lithic studies among the contemporary Highland Maya'', University of Arizona Press. *Herbich, I. 1987 Learning patterns, potter interaction and ceramic style among the Luo of Kenya. ''The African Archaeological Review'' 5:193-204. *Hinshaw, J. 2000 ''Ethnobotanical and Archaeobotanical Relationships: A Yuman Case Study'', Coyote Press. *Kohn, A. 2010 ''Of Bricks and Blood: Vernacular Spatial Practice and Social Relations in the City of LaPaz, Bolivia'', PhD dissertation, University of Chicago. *Kramer, C. 1997 ''Pottery in Rajasthan: Ethnoarchaeology in Two Indian Cities'', Smithsonian. *London, G. 2000 Ethnoarchaeology and interpretation, in ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' 63:2-8. *Longacre, W. & J. Skibo eds. 1994 ''Kalinga Ethnoarchaeology'', Smithsonian.References
{{Ethnobiology Ethnography Archaeological sub-disciplines